Methods of increasing tonic inhibition and treating secondary insomnia

Abstract

Methods of increasing tonic inhibition in a subject in need thereof, for example a subject with Fragile X syndrome or Angelman syndrome are disclosed. Methods of treating secondary insomnia in a subject with a neurodegenerative disease or disorder are also disclosed. The methods can include administering the subject an effective amount of 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo(5,4-c)pyridin-3-ol (THIP) or a derivative thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, increase tonic inhibition in neurons of the subject; to increase slow wave sleep (SWS) and / or slow wave activity (SWA), normalize sleep architecture, reduce secondary insomnia, increase non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, increase sleep continuity, enhance delta activity within NREM, increase or improve total sleep time (TST), increase or improve sleep efficiency, reduce total time awake (TAA), reduce number of awakenings (NWA), reduce latency to persistent sleep (LPS), or to reduce wake after sleep onset (WASO), in the subject, or any combination thereof.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 008,939, filed Jun. 6, 2014, all of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The field of the invention generally relates to methods of using a composition including 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo(5,4-c)pyridin-3-ol (THIP), a derivative thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof for treating diseases and disorders characterized by secondary insomnia and / or defects or deficiencies in tonic inhibition.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Although many advances have been made, the treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and neurogenetic diseases remain largely inadequate.[0004]In some cases, neurological diseases are linked by an underlying pathophysiology, for example, Fragile X syndrome and Angelman syndrome are linked by loss of tonic inhibition in certain tissues of the brain. In some cases, neurological dise...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text describes methods of increasing the inhibition of neurons in the brain to improve slow-wave sleep and treat secondary insomnia in certain medical conditions. The methods involve administering a pharmaceutical composition containing a specific chemical called THIP or a derivative thereof. The patent is based on the discovery that THIP can enhance the activity of certain brain cells that produce slow waves, which are important for regulating sleep. The patent outlines various ways that increasing tonic inhibition of neurons can improve sleep quality and efficiency, reduce awareness during sleep, and reduce the number of awakenings.

Problems solved by technology

Although many advances have been made, the treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and neurogenetic diseases remain largely inadequate.

For diseases such as Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Fragile X syndrome, and Angelman syndrome, treatments are very limited and cures do not exist.

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